The last time Mark Hughes oversaw a victory at the Etihad Stadium, he was sacked shortly afterwards. It is safe to say this was not such a bittersweet triumph and, whether or not it constituted revenge, it was certainly a reminder of his prowess to the club that discarded him so unceremoniously.

Hughes is now approaching the fifth anniversary of his 2009 dismissal, minutes after Manchester City beat Sunderland 4-3, and when they had already lined up his successor, Roberto Mancini, and if he was miscast as a manager of a super-rich club with vaunting ambition, this was proof that he has often excelled with a lesser budget and a competitive group of players who savour their status as underdogs.

A superlative result was achieved in spectacular style, Mame Biram Diouf running virtually the length of the pitch to score the only goal.

Nevertheless, earthier values were as important for Stoke City. Brilliantly configured by Hughes, they defended staunchly throughout. Manchester City, who had scored 99 times in just 30 home games under Manuel Pellegrini, were frustrated. As the champions had won 23 of their previous 26 league matches at the Etihad Stadium, this was both a startling scoreline and, for Stoke, a deserved one.

Predictably, Hughes rejected talk this was particularly gratifying to defeat his former club. “I have no axe to grind,” said the man whom City axed. “I am just delighted for my team and our fans. They have enjoyed a fantastic goal and a great performance.”

The manner of the win was especially pleasing. One suggestion was that Stoke dragged the champions down to their level but that was manifestly unfair on their performance. There was much to admire about their organisation and commitment, the rumbustious running of Diouf, the deft touch of Peter Crouch and the willingness of their defensive colleagues to swarm around a flair player posing dangers.

Meanwhile, Pellegrini’s side laboured in uncharacteristically ineffective fashion. “We didn’t play well in a creative way,” the Chilean conceded. His side were at their seductive best only once, on the stroke of half-time.

Sergio Agüero darted into the penalty area, drawing a crowd of defenders to him, and released Aleksandar Kolarov with a backheel. The left-back took the right option, finding Yaya Touré, who struck the bar.

Otherwise, this was the antithesis of their expert dissection of Liverpool on Monday. Pellegrini’s side were strangely blunt. They were flat, with Stevan Jovetic enduring an anticlimactic afternoon, five days after he was the match-winner with a brace against one of their title rivals. Even the normally impeccable David Silva overhit a pass, which happens about as often as his side lose at home. “These games always happen once a year,” Pellegrini said. “It happened today.”

He believed they should have had a late reprieve, when Touré claimed a penalty as Erik Pieters challenged. To Pellegrini’s irritation, the Ivorian was booked for diving. “It was a clear penalty,” he said. Nevertheless, the referee Lee Mason was consistent in his reluctance to point to the spot. Diouf had been tripped by Kolarov just inside the home penalty area. “I saw the one we should have had in the first half,” Hughes said. “They even themselves out so we would have won anyway.”

The early alarm was a warning sign that Pellegrini’s team were struggling to halt Diouf legally and his first Stoke goal came as an inadvertent result of the hosts’ pressure. One penalty area was packed and the other was almost deserted when Stoke cleared a corner as far as Diouf, lurking just outside the 18-yard box. The Senegalese ran a further 80 yards, brushing off Kolarov and nutmegging Fernandinho, the last defender, before sliding a shot past Joe Hart for a magnificent solo goal. “Outstanding,” said Hughes. Pellegrini was predictably less impressed. “It was too easy the way they scored on a counterattack,” he argued.

It was a goal the beleaguered half of Manchester could enjoy. Manager Hughes and defenders Phil Bardsley and Ryan Shawcross all have Manchester United on their CVs. The scorer Diouf, brought in from Hannover to add an extra dimension to the attack, is a fourth Old Trafford old boy, having spent two and a half years there between July 2009 and January 2012.

“When you are a striker you want to make an impression as soon as possible and that means scoring goals,” Hughes added. “We could see he was going to give us something we didn’t have last year, which was pace and power on the break.”

Meanwhile, Pellegrini shrugged off suggestions City could make a late move for a rather more costly striker, Monaco’s £54m Colombian Radamel Falcao, who was not involved in his current club’s match against Lille on Saturday and has been strongly linked with a transfer away. “Just rumours,” he said. It is his standard response to such speculation, but the result that preceded it was distinctly unusual.